Kindlings Hearth Alum Blog

I can see where this is headed and it is going to be another artistic embarrassment in the name of Jesus.

I'm referring to "Facing the Giants"a low budget film produced by Sherwood Baptist Church that just received a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. The church says the G-rated movie has been upgraded because the MPAA finds the religious content offensive. Sherwood Associate Pastor Alex Kendrick wrote and starred in the movie and was a little surprised when it received a PG rating. He said, "This movie is pretty clean. There is no violence or nudity or language in it." One scene though has a coach evangelizing a football player and that according to the church is what the MPAA finds offensive.

The PG rating, of course, has turned into a PR bonanza for the church's little film due to be released in the Fall. "Alex Kendrick and Pastor Michael Catt are doing dozens of interviews with national media about their movie rating. "Time Magazine, supposed to do CNN Monday, and Good Morning America has also done a clip," Reverend Catt said." "It is set to be released in September in 85 cities on 400 screens, and this controversy might make it even bigger. "We would hope obviously to shoot for the largest audience possible, because our goal again is to reach the world from Albany Georgia," Kendrick said."

Juxtapose this story on the following quote from Derek Webb, formerly of Caedman's call, and you see why I think this will be another embarrassment. "Christian artists don't seem to be focused anymore on making great art. That's our main problem, not what our message is, not what we are trying to communicate, not how we are breaking down these barriers, but the fact that we are failing to make good engaging art is our main problem. Our industry, the way it is set up, who the gatekeepers are, it doesn't encourage making unique art. We have a radio genre that is on the whole pretty uninteresting, and it's pretty bland artistically."

Sherwood Baptist's efforts, which I'm sure are well meaning, reveal two major seismic fault lines in American Christianity and they are both rooted in our abandonment of a theology of creation.

Those who believe God is our creator and that humans have been created in God's image should understand that this means we should also be creative and should share God's passion for artistic excellence. At the end of each step of creation "God saw what He had made and IT WAS GOOD. I know big budgets don't guarantee good films, but I can guarantee you the Sherwood project made in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" range will be noticeably inferior to other Hollywood productions. A friend who has seen the film says it clearly looks like a low-budget made-for-TV project. Why should we be excited that an aesthetically inferior product will be released on over 400 movie screens? The film includes the line "We need to give God our best in every area." Do they believe this film is our best?

The church would argue that this film should succeed because it openly proclaims "the gospel." By this they mean it explicitly includes scenes encouraging "receiving Jesus as Savior." Being forgiven, received into God's fellowship and receiving the promise of our future perfection in Heaven is no small matter, but it is only the first part of the story. Art historian and L' Abri theologian Hans Rookmaaker reminds us, "Jesus did not come to make us Christian, Jesus came to make us fully human." By this he meant that Jesus' purpose is to make us new creatures, who can once again reflect the image of God in all it's splendor–intellectually, spiritually, creatively, morally and relationally.

Any Christianity that knows God as savior, but not as creator, will produce "Christians" who are less than fully human and such people will never create good art or care to.

And this is our dilemma as people who love Jesus and art. We live in a culture that loves art but not Jesus dominated by a Christian sub-culture that loves Jesus, but not good art.

In 1999 I sat in the conference room at a company called Post Effects in Chicago. (This is where Bill Kurtis produces all his A&E shows). Among those gathered at my invitation were Marty O'Donnell (Bungee-Halo), Rand Miller (Myst/Riven), Jim Reardon (Rolling Stone writer), Lou Carlozo (Chicago Tribune entertainment writer) and Tom Beaudoin (author of Virtual Faith-The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X). Not attending, but also in the loop were author Anne Lamott and NPR commentator Frederica Mathewes-Green.

I had just left my Chicago-based nationally syndicated talk show and was kind of fed up with talk radio, which in my view was increasingly polarized and argumentative, offering a bland stew of political talk, hostile talk and frivolous talk. Meanwhile serous writers like social philosopher Charles Handy were writing books like The Hungry Spirit which opens with these words. "In Africa, they say there are two hungers, the lesser hunger and the greater hunger. The lesser hunger is for the things that sustain life, the goods and services, and the money to pay for them, which we all need. The greater hunger is for an answer to the question "why?"� for some understanding of what that life is for." Where, we wondered, are these deep, core issues discussed?

Our little group had two things in common: we were thoughtful creatives and we agreed that there was a need for places where people of differing views and backgrounds could engage in intelligent, imaginative, hospitable explorations of ideas that mattered in contemporary life. We were also media professionals who realize we live in a superficial age that markets to the lowest common denominator. The middlebrow culture that once existed between academic elites and mere mortals is disappearing along with the distribution channels that once served them.

We intuitively sensed the web would fill that gap somehow, so seven years ago we started to explore ways to facilitate a meaningful conversation online. The arrival of podcasts means our time has come. The name "the kindlings,"� grew out of our identities. Look at the definitions of kindling and muse: Kindling: material to light a fire; to produce warmth & an illuminating glow. Muse: to spark one's creative thought; engage in meditation; to consider thoughtfully. We wanted illuminating conversation (musing) sparked by the stuff of everyday life (kindling). We are the kindlings and our conversation is The Kindlings Muse.

In a media age characterized by the confluence of polarization and trivialization, The Kindlings Muse will offer an intelligent, imaginative, hospitable exploration of ideas that matter most in contemporary life as sparked through our personal journeys and through our shared cultural experience in art, movies, books, music and events.

Over the next few months The Kindlings Muse will be released as local event featuring a live audience and round-table of thoughtful creatives and gadflies discussing ideas, beliefs and values shaping life today and originating from the center of the universe, Seattle's Fremont District, at Hales Ales Brewery & Pub (May 22, 2006, June 19, 2006 and every Monday beginning September 11, 2006). For more information contact: kindlingsmuse@halesbrewery.com.

We will also produce The Kindlings Muse Podcast and the nationally syndicated The Kindlings Muse Radio Show (September 2006). Stay tuned more is on the way!

Dick Staub